OS ANFÍBIOS DA SERRAPILHEIRA DA MATA ATLÂNTICA BRASILEIRA: ESTADO ATUAL DO CONHECIMENTO

Abstract

LEAF LITTER AMPHIBIANS OF BRAZILIAN ATLANTIC RAINFOREST: CURRENT STATUS OF  KNOWLEDGE.  In  this  review,  we  analyzed  160  published  articles  about  frogs  that  inhabit  the  leaf litter that cover the soil of the Atlantic Forest in a period of 61 years (1949 to 2010). Our results showed a reduced knowledge of the various aspects of frog species that inhabit the leaf litter of the Atlantic Forest, with a higher concentration of studies in the last decade and in southeastern Brazil, especially in the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The different methodologies used in the evaluated studies (visual search at different seasons, pitfall traps and the use of enclosed plots of different sizes), when used in combination, provide a better sampling of the environment as well as the possibility to make inferences on the abundance, density, occupancy and use of microhabitats by amphibians living in leaf litter on the ground of the Atlantic Forest. The richness, density and dominance of frog species from the leaf litter varied among the few areas already investigated. Our results indicate the absence of a concept to define leaf litter frogs and especially the lack of studies in forest fragments located in the northern and southern Brazil and the ecosystems associated with the biome, such as montane forests and restinga, indicating the existence of a large gap in knowledge of frog species that inhabit leaf litter in the Atlantic Rainforest.

Keywords: Revision; articles; anurans; forest ground; Atlantic Forest.